U.S. patent application number 11/450378 was filed with the patent office on 2007-12-13 for portable exercising apparatus.
Invention is credited to Judy Teng.
Application Number | 20070287617 11/450378 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38822666 |
Filed Date | 2007-12-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070287617 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Teng; Judy |
December 13, 2007 |
Portable exercising apparatus
Abstract
A portable exercising apparatus includes a first frame member, a
second frame member, a first tube perpendicularly and fixedly
connected to the first frame member, a second tube perpendicularly
and fixedly connected to the second frame member and slidably
inserted into the first tube and defining with the first tube an
air chamber, an air valve mounted in the first tube in
communication with the air chamber and the atmosphere, and two
elastic members connected between the first frame member and the
second frame member at two sides of the first tube and the second
tube.
Inventors: |
Teng; Judy; (Taichung City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C.;624 NINTH STREET, NW
SUITE 300
WASHINGTON
DC
20001-5303
US
|
Family ID: |
38822666 |
Appl. No.: |
11/450378 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/126 ;
482/112; 482/123 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 21/4043 20151001;
A63B 21/026 20130101; A63B 23/03575 20130101; A63B 23/1254
20130101; A63B 23/03533 20130101; A63B 21/00072 20130101; A63B
23/03525 20130101; A63B 23/1245 20130101; A63B 21/0087 20130101;
A63B 21/00069 20130101; A63B 21/4035 20151001; A63B 21/4045
20151001; A63B 23/1209 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/126 ;
482/112; 482/123 |
International
Class: |
A63B 21/008 20060101
A63B021/008; A63B 21/02 20060101 A63B021/02 |
Claims
1. A portable exercising apparatus comprising: a first frame
member; a second frame member; a first tube having a first end
fixedly connected to said first frame member and an opening at a
second end thereof; a second tube having a first end fixedly
connected to said second frame member and a second end inserted
through the opening of said first tube into the inside of said
first tube such that an air chamber is defined inside said first
tube; an air valve mounted in said first tube in communication with
said air chamber and the atmosphere; and at least one elastic
member fixedly connected between said first frame member and said
second frame member.
2. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said first frame member has a locating hole, which receives the
first end of said first tube.
3. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said second frame member has a locating hole, which receives the
first end of said second tube.
4. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said first tube has a transverse through hole, which accommodates
said air valve.
5. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said at least one elastic member is formed of a carbon fiber rod
member.
6. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein
said first frame member has a mounting hole for receiving a first
end of the carbon fiber rod member.
7. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein
said second frame member has a mounting hole for receiving a second
end of the carbon fiber rod member.
8. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising at least one grip respectively mounted on said at least
one elastic member.
9. The portable exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, the
portable exercising apparatus has two said elastic members, which
are connected between said first frame member and said second frame
member at two sides of and in parallel to said first tube and said
second tube.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to exercising apparatus and
more particularly, to a simple and portable exercising apparatus
that is practical for exercising the muscles of the arms and the
abdomen.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Various exercising apparatus, such as dumbbells chest
developers, spring bars, and etc., are commercially available for
exercising the muscles of the arms. These exercising apparatus use
the designed mechanical structure for enabling the hands to make a
reciprocating action, thereby exercising the muscles of the
arms.
[0005] When a user is operating one of the aforesaid conventional
exercising apparatus, the user can only exercise the body with a
fixed weight or by means of one single operation mode, i.e., the
user has no choice to change the damping resistance on one same
exercising apparatus. The tendons and muscles may be injured easily
when exercising the body with an improper damping resistance. It is
insignificant to exercise the body without safety.
[0006] Further, because conventional exercising apparatus for
exercising the arms are not adjustable to provide different damping
resistance subject to different exercising requirements, a user may
have to prepare various different weights or different exercising
apparatus. There are commercially available heavy exercising
machines that are adjustable to provide different exercising
pressure subject to different users or subject to different
exercising requirements. These heavy exercising machines, such as
scissors-action machines or chest weights, are commonly expensive
and require much floor space. Therefore, either using a heavy
exercising machine or multiple small exercising apparatus, the user
will encounter a storage problem when receiving the heavy
exercising machine or the multiple small exercising apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention has been accomplished under the
circumstances in view. It is one objective of the present invention
to provide a portable exercising apparatus, which is safe in use
for moderate exercises and convenient for carrying and storage.
[0008] It is another objective of the present invention to provide
a portable exercising apparatus, which provides a damping
resistance by means of compressing air when operated by the
user.
[0009] It is still another objective of the present invention to
provide a portable exercising apparatus, which has simple structure
and is inexpensive to manufacture.
[0010] To achieve these objectives of the present invention, the
portable exercising apparatus comprises a first frame member, a
second frame member, a first tube, a second tube, an air valve, and
at least one elastic member. The first tube has a first end
perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the first frame member, a
second end, and an opening at the second end. The second tube has a
first end perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the second frame
member and a second end inserted through the opening of the first
tube into the inside of the first tube such that an air chamber is
defined inside the first tube. The air valve is mounted in the
first tube in communication with the air chamber and the
atmosphere. The at least one elastic member is respectively fixedly
connected between the first frame member and the second frame
member. The elastically deformable material property of the at
least one elastic member provides not only a resisting force to the
user when the user is operating the exercising apparatus but also a
rebounding force to return the two tubes to the former position
during operation of the exercising apparatus.
[0011] According to the present invention, the air contained in the
air chamber is compressed to impart a damping resistance when the
user moves the first frame member and the second frame member
toward each other. By means of adjusting the air valve to regulate
the air discharging speed, the damping force is relatively
adjusted. Therefore, the user can adjust the air valve to further
adjust the damping force as desired.
[0012] The user can operate the exercising apparatus in any of a
variety of operation modes to exercise the muscles of the arms. In
additional to exercising the muscles of the arms, the exercising
apparatus can also be operated to exercise the muscles of the
abdomen.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a front view of a portable exercising apparatus
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken in an enlarged scale along
line 2-2 of FIG. 1.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a part of the exercising
apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing showing a first operation mode
of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment
of the present invention in action.
[0017] FIG. 5 is another schematic drawing showing a first
operation mode of the exercising apparatus according to the
preferred embodiment of the present invention in action.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing a second operation
mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention in action.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing a third operation mode
of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment
of the present invention in action.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing showing a fourth operation
mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention in action.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a portable exercising apparatus 10 in
accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention
comprises a first frame member 20, a second frame member 30, a
first tube 40, a second tube 50, and two elastic members 60.
[0022] The first frame member 20 is injection-molded from plastics,
having a bearing wall 22, two grips 24, a locating hole 26, and two
mounting holes 28. The bearing wall 22 is disposed at one side,
namely, the outer side of the first frame member 20, having a
corrugated or embossed surface that enhances the friction force
upon contact of the bearing wall 22 with an external body. The two
grips 24 are respectively horizontally extending from two distal
ends of the bearing wall 22 to expand the grasping area so that the
user can hold the first frame member 20 positively and employ a
pressure to the exercising apparatus 10 against an external object.
The locating hole 26 is disposed at the other side, namely, the
inner side of the first frame member 20 opposite to the bearing
wall 22. The two mounting holes 28 are arranged in parallel at two
sides of the locating hole 26.
[0023] The second frame member 30 is injection-molded from
plastics, having a bearing wall 32, a locating hole 34, and two
mounting holes 36. The bearing wall 32 is disposed at one side,
namely, the outer side of the second frame member 30, having a
corrugated or embossed surface. The locating hole 34 is disposed at
the other side, namely, the inner side of the second frame member
30 opposite to the bearing wall 32. The two mounting holes 36 are
arranged in parallel at two sides of the locating hole 34.
[0024] The first tube 40 is made of metal having a transverse
through hole 42 and an air valve 44 mounted in the transverse
through hole 42. The first tube 40 has an opening 41 at one end
through which the second tube 50 is inserted. The other end of the
first tube 40 is firmly inserted into the locating hole 26 of the
first frame member 20 so that the first tube 40 is firmly fastened
to the first frame member 20.
[0025] The second tube 50 is made of metal, having one end firmly
inserted into the locating hole 34 of the second frame member 30
and the other end slidably inserted through the opening 41 into the
first tube 40. Therefore, the first tube 40 and the second tube 50
define an air chamber 52, which is in communication with the
atmosphere through the air valve 44 of the first tube 40.
[0026] The elastic members 60 are carbon fiber rod members
respectively axially mounted with a respective a cylindrical sponge
grip 62 on the middle for holding by the user when operating the
elastic members 60 of the exercising apparatus 10. Further, the
elastic members 60 each have one end respectively firmly inserted
into the mounting holes 28 of the first frame member 20 and the
other end respectively firmly inserted into the mounting holes 36
of the second frame member 30. When assembled, the two elastic
members 60 are kept in parallel to the tubes 40 and 50.
[0027] When operating the exercising apparatus through different
operation modes to shorten the length of the exercising apparatus
10, i.e., to move the tubes 40 and 50 toward each other, the
elastic members 60 are deformed to give a resistance, and at the
same time the internal air inside the air chamber 52 is compressed
to impart a damping force. When increasing the internal pressure of
the air chamber 52, the damping force is relatively increased, and
the inside air is force to pass out of the air valve 44 to the
atmosphere. By means of adjusting the air valve 44 to regulate the
air discharging speed, the damping force is relatively adjusted.
When the inside pressure of the air chamber 52 and the atmospheric
pressure are balanced, the damping force is disappeared. When the
user released the external pressure from the exercising apparatus,
the two elastic members 60 immediately return to their former
shape, and therefore the first frame member 20 and the second frame
member 30 are returned to their former position.
[0028] The exercising apparatus 10 can be operated in any of a
variety of operation modes, for example, one of the following four
operation examples.
[0029] According to the first operation mode shown in FIGS. 4 and
5, the user can hold the cylindrical sponge grips 62 of the elastic
members 60 with both hands and then alternatively stretch and
release the elastic members 60 in transverse direction to exercise
the muscles of the arms.
[0030] According to the second operation mode shown in FIG. 6, the
user can hold the first frame member 20 and the second frame member
30 with both hands and then alternatively move the first frame
member 20 and the second frame member 30 inwards and outwards
relative to each other to exercise the muscles of the arms.
[0031] According to the third operation mode as shown in FIG. 7,
the user can hold the grips 24 of the first frame member 20 with
both hands and stop the bearing wall 32 of the second frame member
30 against the abdomen, and then alternatively impart a pressure to
the first frame member 20 to force the first frame member 20 toward
the second frame member 30 and then release the pressure so as to
exercise the muscles of the arms and the abdomen.
[0032] According to the fourth operation mode as shown in FIG. 8,
the user can stop the second frame member 30 against the floor and
hold the first frame member 20 with both hands, and then
alternatively move the first frame member 20 up and down relative
to the second frame member 30 to exercise the muscles of the arms
and the abdomen.
[0033] As indicated above, the exercising apparatus 10 of the
present invention has a simple structure and is convenient for
carrying and storage.
[0034] Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention
is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
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